“Goddamn! MTV Iggy chose the video to »Contrails«!” – rejoices Andy Bothwell, an American from Minneapolis, whose visit to the Asymmetry Festival Before Party will be his first to our country. I won’t deny, that “This is Our Science!” and the two former releases of the artist, were my first contacts with his output. I also suspect, that apart from a quite narrow group of made in the US alternative hip-hop hotheads, very few people here know who Andy is. But, once you get to know it Dear Readers, I’m sure, that by Andy’s aka Astronautalis’ example, you will shout “Goddamn!”, or even more pointedly and thunderously “Holy sh…!”. Because there is no other way. That’s the impression the 30-year-old’s music leaves.

In order to bring Astronautalis’ art closer, I chose his last release. “This Is Our Science” is a work, by all means, mature and balanced. Although I’m not that decisive, to put the Minneapolis-based American into the hip-hop bag. There might not be clear references to his older, legendary countryman Prince, in his tracks, but the elements are so numerous, that it’d be best to be careful with straightforward labels. Astronautalis raps quite a lot of course. The disposing of words is accompanied by music, which touches quite heavily on ambitious, expanded, in terms of arrangement, pop (guess Andy listened to Scott Walker), at moments really catchy; furthermore, independent rock, song-writing, blues, country, electro. There’s even a moment, in which Andy calmly wails in the vein of his unforgettable namesake Andy Wood of Mother Love Bone. So we commune with subtle grunge. When he sings, early-Beck (to whom is he compared most frequently) mannerism is quite audible. But such tracks as “Measure the Globe”, starting off with a piano and voice, is something like combining Elton John with the things Bruce Springsteen, or his namesake Hornsby, does. Oh and we’ll find Tom Waits’ influence among the compositions. Not a bug one, but nevertheless.

Andy has graduated from acting school (theatre, to be more exact), so I suspect that he worked on his emotions, on the ability of controlling them, expressing and their gradation. And even if he didn’t have such classes, he copes with exhibiting his emotions on “This is Our Science” perfectly. At moments, like in “Thomas Jefferson”, it is almost has the power of a gospel choir! He overwhelms us outright. Apart from that, he captivates us arrangementally. More exactly, with arrangemental diligence, and accuracy in choosing the means. I haven’t felt, at a single moment, that something in unnecessary and suited for throwing out. And let’s hope the track mentioned at the beginning, “Contrails”, in which Andy is accompanied by Tegan Quinn of the Tegan & Sara duo, enables him to climb to a higher level. Although MTV isn’t what it used to be, and MTV Iggy directed towards the young, promising artists probably won’t make a breakthrough due to poor opinions on the main channel, but let’s hope it helps Astronautalis’ career somehow. May it not help too much, because then chances of him showing up in Poland on Asymmetry Festival again, would decrees greatly. Just in case, come to the Before Party, because it’s surely worth it. For Andy freestyles on the stage, to catch-phrases given by the audience. So you have a chance to try him. Make us of it! And keep visiting the asymmetryfestival.pl web site. It’ll feature an interview with Astronautalis soon.

Lesław Dutkowski